Samson and Gert
THIS PAGE HAS A WIKI OF IT'S OWN Samson and Gert is a Flemish children's televisions series produced by Studio 100, broadcasted since 1990. However Samson and Gert ''debuted already in 1989 as contuinity announcers. Because of their massive popularity, they got their own show resolving around the talking dog Samson and his boss Gert. History Originally Gert Verhulst was a continuity announcer. He wanted to make the announcements before children's television programmes more appealing by having an animal puppet next to him. He got in touch with puppeteer. Danny Verbiest, who created the puppet dog Samson. Samson, an Old English Sheepdog, made his screen debut in the Christmas period of 1989. The pair's popularity grew very rapidly in Flanders and they were given their own television series in 1990. The show, named ''Samson and Gert, premiered on September 2, 1990. During the show, Samson and Gert and their friends would encounter many funny and chaotic situations. The plot would be interrupted for contests, fan mail and a variety of cartoons, such as The Smurfs, Ovide and the Gang, and Mrs. Pepper Pot. The production of new episodes ceased in 2005, but the series is still broadcast in Flanders and the Netherlands and is very popular with children. Peter Thyssen replaced Danny Verbiest in the role of Samson. Who was later replaced by Dirk Bosschaert. Samson and Gert's first movie,'' Panic in the Hotel, premiered on 12 March 2008. It also stars their friends Alberto, Octaaf, Modest and Eugène. Concept and characters Samson is sweet naive Old English Sheepdog who can speak but consistently mispronounces certain words and cannot get names right. His best friend is his boss Gert. Samson is in love with Bobientje, another Old English Sheepdog, and Gert is in love with Marlène. Bobientje and Marlène are both unseen characters, but are mentioned in almost every episode. Samson and Gert live together in a big house at 101 Villagestreet, where a lot of funny and chaotic situations take place. Their (clumsy) neighbour, Joop Mengelmoes, broke the doorbell at the house when they first met, in the very first episode. Every visitor now enters the house with the catchphrase "I had to knock because the doorbell is broken" - one of many catchphrases in the programme. The village mayor, Modest, seems more interested in model aircraft than in his work as mayor. He always makes the same speech: "To those who are present: congratulations! For those who are absent: congratulations as well!". He is assisted by his playful and hyperactive secretary Eugène Of Loamhouses. The minister's delegate regularly pays a visit to the town, but his visits always occur at the worst possible time. The local grocery store is run by Octaaf De Bolle and his overbearing mother Jeannine. Octaaf is extremely conceited and vain, but in reality he is nothing but a bungler. He is the president of the local gymnastics club and he thinks of himself as an athlete. He also has a teenage daughter, Miranda. His mother Jeannine is the proud president of the local crafts club. Just like her son, Jeannine is not afraid to brag. The town's best (and only) hairdresser is Albert Vermeersch, a.k.a. "Alberto Vermicelli". He doesn't get a lot of customers, so he eats a lot to pass the time. Aside from eating, Albert enjoys singing and is an active participant in the local opera company. As in every Belgian village, there is a friture (chip shop). The owner of the friture, Fred Croquette, is never shown on screen but he often tries to sell jars of mayonnaise and pickles by phone. He retired from business in 2001, after which his cousin Frieda took over. Frieda immediately fell in love with Albert, but sadly her love remained unrequited. Episodes See this page for more information about the episodes. Movies Panic in the Hotel is so far the only movie of Samson and Gert. Specials See this page for more information about the specials. Comic book See this page for more information about the comics. Shows Samson and Gert had some more potential than just television, so they started singing as well. For thirteen years they made an annual CD with songs. Sometimes with a bonus music video. The songs are sung in made of their shows. The most famous of these shows is the annual Samson and Gert Christmas Show. Other shows include: *Samson and Gert Summertour *Samson and Gert Plopsaland De Panne Show *Samson and Gert Efteling Show *Samson and Gert Tour in the Netherlands *The Mayor disco-show Merchandising A lot of merchandising around Samson and Gert has been made. They even have their own drinks and saucages. Trivia *The show is loosely inspired by ''Bassie and Adriaan. *Samson is the only main charachter on the show to not be a human, he is also the only main charachter to be played/voiced by more than one actor. *In the very first episodes, viewers could call in to the show, the huge amount of calls made the phonecenter crash. From then on, instead of calling, viewers had to send letters. *During the episodes, well-known music can be heard. *There are not much bloopers of the show, because new episodes were taped over the bloopers. *From 1999 until 2005, Samson and Gert had their own comicbook. *''Samson and Gert'' have released a lot of songs and albums. *Even though the show has been cancelled in 2005, they can still be seen in many reruns of the show and in their annual Samson and Gert Christmas Show. *On the fansite Studio100fan.eu, Samson and Gert was voted best TV-show in their forum contest De Stem (translated: The Vote) International *''Samson and Gert'' is broadcasted in Flanders and the Netherlands. *Fred and Samson an French version of the show is broadcasted in Wallonia. **The show was eventually canceled, but they got another one named The attic of Fred and Samson. Category:Studio 100 Category:Samson Category:Series Category:Original